foozball - I did some checking on last year’s Brown deferral thread. Last year, Brown ultimately admitted 88 out of 2,318 deferred ED applicants - a paltry 3.8%. That’s lower than the overall RD acceptance rate. Don’t know why it would be lower, but there it is.
Huh, mine isn’t opening either. Weird.
Ughhh…any advice on what a deferred student does to get accepted? Good 1st semester grades I know. Asking for my daughter.
Everybody who applied ED check your email. The Admissions Office just sent out an important notification for ED applicants.
is it ed decisions?
Nope, just notifying that the portal is closing tomorrow at 8 p.m.
I wonder what that means. Oh man, the wait is killing me, and I’m just the mom!
@Trixy34 Me too!!
@TheBigChef-Wow- lower than the RD applicants with doesn’t make sense, i would think if anything, it would be slightly higher since none of these applicants were outright rejected. Not great news, but much appreciated. Thanks again!
very nervous
any update on when would the results come
On a separate note - I heard a rumor that Daly School is the #1 feeder school into Brown.
I applied to Brown ED but didn’t receive an email today about the portal closing. does this mean anything?
“lower than the RD applicants wich doesn’t make sense, i would think if anything, it would be slightly higher since none of these applicants were outright rejected”.
Foozball it actually makes perfect sense and is accurate. While you are correct that deferred applicants weren’t “outright rejected” they also weren’t outright accepted. Meaning the applications may (emphasis on may) be worthy of a second review but not (emphasis on not) compelling enough to receive an acceptance during ED round.
Stated differently they weren’t a “home run”. Only will they be returned to in a meaningful way if they don’t find enough “home runs” in the 30,000 plus RD applications.
Also keep in mind the majority of legacy kids apply ED. Deferral is a path for many legacies to a “gentle” rejection which pushes the deferred numbers up and accepted deferred students down.
Apologies and not intending to be negative but respond to your statement honestly. Good luck!
I applied for financial aid but didn’t receive a request to fill out IDOC…Is this bad?
the wait is honestly killing me… will brown tell us beforehand the date that decisions come out, or will they notify us right when decisions are live?
@Nocreativity1- No apology necessary, I appreciate your reply. My thinking was that many rd applicants would be be weaker applicants and outright rejected, thus making the pool somewhat weaker with lower percentage of acceptances, but your reasoning makes perfect sense. Thanks!
@strawberryfondue12 we should be getting notified about the date and time of the admission decisions soon! 
pretty sure it’s going to be on the 13th at 6 p.m since it has almost always been on a Thursday.
Foozball- Unfortunately the entire admissions process at elite schools involves getting enormous numbers (31,926 RD last year at Brown) down to small manageable groups.
During the RD round with approximately 6% acceptance rates (5.73% last year) eliminating the first 15 of 20 kids is (while not easy), fairly manageable. Ultimately however you still have approximately 7,000 RD applicants who are all highly qualified for the limited 1,829 spots offered in RD last year. For a deferred ED student to get an offer they have to stand out in both the pool of deferred students and against the “highly” qualified top echelon of RD applicants.
That is why numerically you see the lower acceptance rate of ED deferred candidates vs RD rate.
Now for some more sobering news. With ED applications up 20% yield should also rise from last years 64.9% (1,665 enrolled from 2,566 accepted). This will likely translate into fewer wait list spots opening up down the line and an even more rigorous process throughout.
Not trying to destroy hope but temper expectations.
People refer to the admissions process as a random “crap shoot”. My observation is that it is very much the contrary when getting large numbers into small. Grades, test scores, ECs, rigor, etc are all thoroughly examined to ensure every kid at Brown has the background to succeed on campus and in the classroom. This review is conducted meticulously and judging by the kids I have met on campus accomplished effectively. Note: the acceptance rate for valedictorians is historically only about 15%.
Unfortunately however many more kids have the aforementioned academic capacity to succeed at Brown then spots available At this point taking smaller numbers down to tiny numbers is a bit of a crap shoot. It is all about standing out amongst a group of people who are already standouts. The great athlete, founder of a charity, entrepreneur, winner of national science awards, published poet, etc amongst kids who all have similar levels of achievement tends to get in. To be fair kids of comparable and likely in some cases even greater level of distinction sometimes don’t. It is a bit random when juxtaposed against demographic, geographic, and financial goals as well.
When you spend time on the Brown campus it is assumed and near universally the case that all students have what it takes academically. With a little digging however it quickly becomes apparent what was unique about each kid that caught the admissions officers eye.
I share all of this because I suspect many of those who don’t get in are just as qualified and just as unique in their achievements. With some introspection all applicants know if their raw stats were up to par. If not you were taking a shot and if it doesn’t work out so be it. Better to have tried and failed than not try at all. For those that do have the raw numbers please know that getting accepted remains elusive. Not because you aren’t exceptional but because you are in a crowded field of exceptional people. Your achievements are incredible and are neither defined or diminished by admissions letters.
Good luck to all!